JP2009048397A - Screen editing apparatus, screen editing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the efficiency of editing by enabling users to efficiently locate places to be edited when editing screens to be displayed on displays. <P>SOLUTION: A screen editing apparatus for editing the contents of a GUI to be displayed on a display and saving the edit results which can receive a selected screen component to be edited and make a display setting determinative of whether or not the selected screen component should be displayed on the GUI is configured to store one or more corresponding keywords of each screen component, such as a button, which can be arranged on the GUI, receive an input keyword, extract the screen components corresponding to the received keyword, and display them as candidates for screen components subject to display setting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a screen editing apparatus that edits the contents of an operation screen displayed on a display and saves the edited result, a screen editing method that edits the contents of an operation screen displayed on the display and saves the edited result, and a computer. The present invention relates to a program for functioning as a screen editing apparatus as described above.

Conventionally, it is known to display a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen on a display, and display various data and accept operations on the GUI.
The GUI can be designed by arranging various parts such as a button for receiving an operation from the user and a character display frame for displaying setting contents on the screen. In recent years, there is a large demand for customization in which a user does not use a GUI provided by a manufacturer as it is, but a user edits the contents of a screen to create a GUI suitable for his / her own use.

As a technique related to such GUI customization, for example, those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are known.
Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus in which display / non-display, position, size, and the like can be changed for function keys in a display screen displayed on a liquid crystal display by selecting a panel customization mode. Are listed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a technique that enables an operation screen of an electronic device to be edited by accessing a server from a user terminal. Examples of this editing include enlargement / reduction of the operation button, cutting, composition, position change, or killing (erasing) the function of the button.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-228561 describes an industrial device that can customize a GUI by modifying an HTML file in which a screen layout is set.
JP-A-2005-45370 JP 2003-150971 A JP 2003-5825 A

  By the way, when a device manufacturer intends to provide a GUI customization function, it is possible to predict a user's needs in advance, design a GUI that meets the needs, and provide it as a template. However, if the user's needs do not match the template, the user must perform an operation to change the GUI contents by himself such as moving the position of the button or switching between display / non-display. Don't be. For this reason, when the apparatus has a wide range of setting items and has a large number of GUI screens associated therewith, it may take a great deal of effort for the user to edit a screen having a desired content.

  For example, in a digital multi-function peripheral (MFP) having functions such as copying, printing, and facsimile communication, when a user wants to eliminate waste of paper resources due to single-sided printing and wants to make single-sided printing impossible, the user can customize the GUI. Although this intention can be realized by hiding all the buttons for single-sided printing, the buttons for single-sided printing are scattered in various parts of the GUI covering tens to hundreds of screens. It takes a lot of time and effort to search for and set it to non-display, and it is difficult to set all the buttons for single-sided printing to non-display without omission.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to efficiently find a portion to be edited by a user when editing a screen to be displayed on a display device, and to improve the efficiency of an editing operation. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the screen editing apparatus according to the present invention edits the contents of the operation screen displayed on the display unit and saves the edited result. The above-described operation is performed for the screen storage element selected by the keyword storage means for storing one or more keywords corresponding to the screen constituent element, the selection receiving means for receiving selection of the screen constituent element to be edited, and the selection receiving means. A screen for performing display setting for determining whether to display on a screen, a keyword receiving unit for receiving keyword input, a screen component corresponding to the keyword received by the keyword receiving unit, and performing the display setting Extraction means for displaying as candidate components is provided.

In such a screen editing apparatus, there is provided display means for displaying a list of the keywords stored in the keyword storage means and corresponding to the screen components that can be arranged on the operation screen being edited. It is preferable to provide means for accepting selection of a keyword used for extraction of screen components from the list displayed on the display means.
Further, the keyword storage means is a means for storing a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other as a keyword corresponding to the screen component, and the extraction means is one or more of the plurality of keywords. It is preferable that the screen constituent elements can be extracted by using keywords of arbitrary levels.

Alternatively, by using a keyword corresponding to the screen component selected as the editing target, a screen component corresponding to the keyword is extracted, and displayed as a candidate screen component for performing the display setting. Means may be provided.
In each of the screen editing devices described above, it is preferable to provide means for collectively performing the display setting for an arbitrary number of screen constituent elements selected by the user among the screen constituent elements extracted by the extracting means.
Alternatively, the extraction means may be provided with means for highlighting and displaying the extracted screen components in the preview of the operation screen.

  Further, the screen editing method of the present invention is a screen editing method for editing the contents of the operation screen to be displayed on the display unit and storing the edited result, and for each screen component that can be arranged on the operation screen by the computer. A keyword storing procedure for storing one or more keywords corresponding to the screen component, a selection receiving procedure for receiving selection of a screen component to be edited, and the operation screen for the screen component selected in the selection receiving procedure. Display configuration for determining whether or not to display on the screen, a keyword reception procedure for receiving keyword input, and a screen configuration for extracting the screen components corresponding to the keyword received in the keyword reception procedure and performing the above display settings An extraction procedure to be displayed as an element candidate.

In such a screen editing method, the computer executes a display procedure for displaying a list of keywords stored in the keyword storage procedure and corresponding to screen components that can be arranged on the operation screen being edited, The reception procedure may be a procedure for receiving selection of a keyword used for extraction of screen components from the list displayed in the display procedure.
Further, the keyword storing procedure is a procedure for storing a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other as a keyword corresponding to the screen component, and the extracting procedure is one or more of the plurality of keywords. The screen component may be extracted using any level of keywords.

  A program according to the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as a screen editing device that edits the contents of an operation screen to be displayed on a display unit and saves the edited result. For each screen component that can be arranged, a keyword storage unit that stores one or more keywords corresponding to the screen component, a selection reception unit that receives selection of a screen component to be edited, and the selection reception unit The screen setting element for determining whether or not to display the screen component on the operation screen, the keyword receiving unit for receiving the keyword input, and the screen component corresponding to the keyword received by the keyword receiving unit are extracted. , Function as an extraction means to display as a screen component candidate for the above display setting A program including a program for causing.

In such a program, for causing the computer to function as a display unit that displays a list of keywords stored in the keyword storage unit and corresponding to screen components that can be arranged on the operation screen being edited. The reception means including the program may be a means for receiving selection of a keyword to be used for extraction of screen components from the list displayed on the display means.
Further, the keyword storage means is a means for storing a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other as a keyword corresponding to the screen component, and the extraction means is one or more of the plurality of keywords. It is preferable that the screen constituent elements can be extracted by using keywords of arbitrary levels.

According to the screen editing apparatus or the screen editing method of the present invention as described above, when editing the screen to be displayed on the display device, the user can efficiently find the part to be edited, and improve the efficiency of the editing operation. can do.
Moreover, according to the program of this invention, a computer can be functioned as a screen editing apparatus, and said effect can be acquired.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The screen editing device according to the present invention is a device for editing the contents of an operation screen to be displayed on a display device of some device. The screen editing apparatus can be realized by providing a screen editing function on the apparatus itself that displays the operation screen, or a personal computer (PC) that can communicate with the apparatus that displays the operation screen via a communication path such as a network. You may implement | achieve by making a computer, such as a computer, run a required application program.

Also, the editing function is provided by the device itself that displays the operation screen functioning as an application server, and the editing function can be used by accessing from a PC or the like with a general client application such as a web browser. Good. Further, it is also possible to edit only the operation screen data by a completely independent editing device, record this data on a recording medium, and cause the device displaying the operation screen to read the screen data from the recording medium. Good.
That is, the hardware for realizing the screen editing apparatus may be any hardware as long as it has a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like and has a certain calculation capability.

  Here, as an example, an embodiment will be described in which a screen editing apparatus is realized by a PC and the contents of an operation screen displayed on an image processing apparatus connected to the PC through a network are edited.

[First Embodiment: FIGS. 1 to 15]
First, FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus that displays an operation screen.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus 10 includes an engine unit 19 including a printer engine, a scanner engine, an image storage HDD, and the like, and a communication I / F 17, and includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, and the like. The control unit executes an application program and controls the engine unit 19 and the communication I / F 17 to realize functions such as printing, scanning, copying, document box, and facsimile communication. The number of functions that can be realized can be increased by adding application programs later.

  In addition, the image processing apparatus 10 includes an operation panel 18 in which a touch panel is stacked on a liquid crystal display (LCD) that is a display. A GUI is displayed on the operation panel 18 to perform operations such as settings and operation instructions from a user. And perform operations according to the contents. Among data such as setting contents necessary for these operations, data that can be changed and must be retained even when the power is turned off is stored in the NVRAM (nonvolatile RAM) 14.

Among these, the CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, NVRAM 14, and communication I / F 17 are connected by a system bus 20, and the operation panel 18 and the engine unit 19 are connected to the system bus via a panel I / F 15 and an engine I / F 16, respectively. 20.
The communication I / F 17 can communicate with the PC 40 functioning as a screen editing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention via a network 30 such as a LAN (local area network). For this communication, any communication path can be used regardless of wired or wireless.

FIG. 2 shows functions related to GUI display and customization among the functions of the image processing apparatus 10 and the PC 40 as described above.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 10 includes a control unit 110 and a storage unit 120.
Among these, the control unit 110 includes a communication unit 111, a screen definition data management unit 112, a screen generation unit 113, and a personal authentication management unit 114, and these functions are realized by the CPU 11 executing a required program. The The storage unit 120 includes a screen definition data storage unit 121 and an authentication data storage unit 122, and these functions are realized by the NVRAM 14.

  The communication unit 111 has a function of transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices and processes. This transmission / reception is, for example, stored in the screen definition data storage unit 121 for editing with respect to the UI customization tool 200 that communicates with the PC 40 and provides the GUI editing function, and is used by the image processing apparatus 10 to display the GUI. Provides screen definition data. Alternatively, the screen definition data edited by the UI customization tool 200 is received and stored in the screen definition data storage unit 121 as data used by the image processing apparatus 10 for displaying the GUI. The communication unit 111 also has a function of receiving an instruction of a screen to be displayed on the operation panel 18 from an application using a GUI.

  The screen definition data management unit 112 has a function of managing GUI data stored in the screen definition data storage unit 121. Then, data necessary for displaying and editing the GUI is read from the screen definition data storage unit 121, and the screen definition data edited by the UI customization tool 200 is stored in the screen definition data storage unit 121. When displaying the GUI, the read screen definition data is transferred to the screen generation unit 113.

  The screen generation unit 113 generates GUI image data used for display on the operation panel 18 based on the screen definition data received from the screen definition data management unit 112, and displays the GUI on the operation panel 18 based on the image data. It has a function to make it. Although details will be described later, the screen definition data storage unit 121 stores the screen definition data as data indicating coordinates, shapes, sizes, etc. of buttons, messages, icons, etc. Based on the above, a process of drawing a button, a message, an icon or the like in a bitmap of the display screen is performed to generate GUI image data.

  The personal authentication management unit 114 has a function of authenticating a user who instructs display of a screen using authentication data such as a user ID, a password, or biometric information such as a fingerprint or a vein. This authentication is performed by checking the authentication data input by the user with the authentication data stored in the authentication data storage unit 122. As a result of this authentication, it is conceivable that the user is permitted to use / not permit use of the image processing apparatus 10 or that the use function is restricted by changing the GUI screen to be displayed according to the user. For example, a plurality of screen definition data are prepared for the same type of GUI screen, and when a specific user uses the image processing apparatus 10, a GUI in which a button for selecting a specific function is hidden is displayed. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the user from using the hidden function.

  The image processing apparatus 10 can display a GUI according to the screen definition data edited by the screen editing apparatus on the operation panel 18 by each of the above means, and can accept a user's operation through the GUI.

On the other hand, the PC 40 functions as a UI customization tool 200 that provides a user with a function of editing a GUI screen to be displayed on the image processing apparatus 10 by the CPU executing a required application program.
The UI customization tool 200 includes a communication unit 201, a screen definition data input / output unit 202, a screen component extraction unit 203, and a customization unit 210.

  Among these, the communication unit 201 has a function of transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices and processes. Here, the screen definition data indicating the content of the GUI to be edited is acquired by accessing the control unit 110, or the edited screen definition data is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 10 and stored in the screen definition data storage unit 121. Communication.

The screen definition data input / output unit 202 acquires and stores necessary screen definition data from the image processing apparatus 10 via the communication unit 201 when there is an instruction to read the screen definition data to be edited from the user, and customize unit. It has a function used for change by 210 and search and extraction by the screen component extraction means 203. In addition, when there is a new save or overwrite save instruction from the user, the screen definition data being edited is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 10 via the communication unit 201 and saved.
As will be described in detail later, the screen component extraction unit 203 has a function of searching and extracting a screen component corresponding to the keyword designated by the user from the screen definition data being edited.

In addition to the edit screen generation unit 211, the customization unit 210 includes units for changing the contents of the screen definition data.
The edit screen generation unit 211 displays a GUI edit screen on the display of the PC 40 based on the screen definition data indicating the content of the GUI being edited, which is stored in the screen definition data input / output unit 202, and performs GUI editing and search operations. It has a function to accept.

  As means for changing the contents of the screen definition data, FIG. 2 shows a display / non-display changing means 212, a coordinate changing means 213, and a size changing means 214. Then, in accordance with the instruction received on the GUI edit screen, these are the properties of the screen components such as buttons, messages and icons included in the GUI being edited out of the screen definition data stored in the screen definition data input / output means 202. It is a means to change the value.

  The display / non-display changing means 212 has a display / non-display setting that determines whether or not to display a screen component on the GUI, and the coordinate changing means 213 has coordinates that determine where to place the screen constituent on the GUI. The size changing means 214 is a means for changing the size for determining the size of the screen component to be arranged on the GUI. In addition to these, a corresponding changing unit is provided for each type of property included in the screen definition data that can be changed.

  The PC 40 can edit the content of the GUI screen to be displayed on the operation panel 18 of the image processing apparatus 10 and store the editing result in the image processing apparatus 10 by each of the above means. Of course, the edited result can also be saved on the PC 40 side.

Next, screen definition data indicating the contents of the GUI and related data will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a data set that defines the content of the GUI used by the image processing apparatus 10.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus 10 is an apparatus that realizes functions such as copying and a document box by an application (hereinafter also referred to as “app” for short), and can add functions by arbitrarily adding an application. It is configured. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the GUI data used also stores screen list data defining a set of screens used by the application for each application. Then, screen list designation data is prepared in association with each application installed in the image processing apparatus 10 so that it can be understood which screen list data should be referred to when displaying a GUI for which application.

Further, for each screen list data, reference data indicating the position of screen definition data that defines the contents of the screen is prepared for each screen used by the application.
And this screen definition data is data which prescribes | regulates the content of GUI for one screen.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the screen definition data.
This figure shows data defining the contents of the copy top screen, which is the top screen used in the copy application. As shown in this figure, the screen definition data includes information on the identifier, type, coordinate, size, shape, font size, display presence / absence, and keyword ID for each screen component that can be arranged on a specific screen. .

Among these, “identifier” is information used to specify the screen component, and specifies the code to be executed in response to the button operation event, the selection of the caption displayed on the GUI, the state change on the GUI (non-selection) Used to specify the target of the state / selection state).
“Type” is information indicating the behavior characteristics of the screen components. Here, it is possible to set one of “button” that can be operated, “message” that simply displays a character string, and “icon” that simply displays an image.

“Coordinates” is information that specifies the display positions of screen components in two dimensions, with the upper left of the display area of the GUI screen as the base point.
“Size” is information that defines the width and height when a screen component is displayed on the GUI screen.
“Shape” is information that defines the file name of image data used when displaying screen components on the GUI screen. The image data defined by the “shape” is stored in advance in a predetermined folder so that the image processing apparatus 10 can read the image data when displaying the GUI screen. Further, since no image data is used for displaying “message”, it is not necessary to set a value of “shape” for a screen component whose “type” is “message”.

“Font size” is data defining the font size of captions displayed on buttons and character strings displayed as messages.
“Presence / absence of display” is data defining whether or not to display a screen component on the GUI screen. When the GUI screen is displayed on the operation panel 18, if the “display presence / absence” value is “display”, the corresponding screen component is arranged on the GUI screen. The screen components to be performed are not arranged on the GUI screen. Accordingly, for example, when a certain button is “hidden”, the user cannot perform an operation using the button. This may prohibit the user from using a specific operation or a specific function. it can.
The data up to this point is data used for displaying the GUI screen.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a GUI screen displayed according to these screen definition data.
When the GUI screen is displayed on the operation panel 18 in the image processing apparatus 10, based on these data, in the display area of the GUI screen, for each screen component whose “display presence / absence” value is “display”, The image data of the file specified by “shape” is transformed into the size specified by “size”, arranged at the position specified by “coordinate”, and further, for each language used corresponding to “identifier” Draw the captions registered in the caption table (not shown) prepared in, and draw them at the position defined according to the "coordinates" and "sizes" with the characters of the size specified by the "font size" to generate the image data of the GUI screen To do.

  In addition to this, there may be a case where the contents of the settings made in the image processing apparatus 10 are dynamically displayed on the GUI. For example, the button for selecting a paper feed tray displays the size and orientation of the paper placed on the tray. In this case, the image processing apparatus 10 performs a process of specifying the screen component by the identifier and updating the display of the screen component as necessary.

  In the screen definition data shown in FIG. 4, the “keyword ID” is a keyword prepared in correspondence with the screen component so that it can be used for searching and extracting the screen component during editing of the GUI. It is information which shows. However, here, in order to cope with the switching of the language used, only the keyword ID is shown in the screen definition data, and the keyword actually used for the search is stored in a separate keyword table prepared for each language. ing.

6 and 7 show examples of this keyword table.
FIG. 6 shows a table for Japanese and FIG. 7 shows an English table, each storing a keyword ID and a keyword character string associated with a screen component having the keyword ID in the corresponding language. Yes. At this time, there is no problem even if the same keyword is associated with a plurality of screen components. When extraction is performed using the keyword, only a plurality of screen components are extracted. Also, when searching and extracting screen components according to the keyword specified by the user who is editing the GUI, it corresponds to each screen component according to the contents of the keyword table corresponding to the language used by the user for display. Identify the keywords to be

Since this keyword table is not used for displaying the GUI screen, it is not necessary to store it in the image processing apparatus 10. However, if the keyword table is stored together with the screen list data or the screen definition data, the PC 40 edits the GUI. Data can be read as a set, and data management is easy.
These keyword IDs and keyword character strings are data indicating keywords corresponding to screen components that can be arranged on the GUI screen, and the screen definition data input / output means 202 for storing these data when editing the GUI screen. Corresponds to the keyword storage means.

  In addition to the above-described keyword table, data indicating the name of each screen component is also prepared here as data used when editing the GUI. This name is used to display the extraction result by the search according to the keyword in an easy-to-understand manner. Further, it is also used to display in an easy-to-understand manner what screen components the user has selected for editing.

8 and 9 show examples of name tables for storing the names.
This name table describes the name of the screen component indicated by the identifier in association with the screen component identifier of each screen component. In the example of the figure, two names can be registered. As the name 1, the name of the screen on which the screen component is arranged is registered, and as the name 2, the name indicating the function of the screen component itself is registered. Thus, the user can easily specify the screen components.

However, it is of course possible to use names other than these. In view of the use of the name, unlike the case of the keyword, it is not preferable to register the exact same name for different screen components, but there is no technical problem even if there are a plurality of identical names. Moreover, the keyword and name of each screen component may be the same or different.
Similarly to the keyword table, the name table is prepared for each language. FIG. 8 shows a table for Japanese and FIG. 9 shows an English table. Also, since this name table is not used for displaying the GUI screen itself, it is not necessary to store the name table in the image processing apparatus 10 as long as the PC 40 can be referred to, like the keyword table.

  Of the data shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6 to 9, the screen list data, the “identifier” and “keyword ID” in the screen definition data, and the contents of the keyword table and name table are basically the same. Is provided by the manufacturer of the image processing apparatus 10 and need not be changed by the user. These data are data indicating the contents of a GUI that can be used in the image processing apparatus 10 and data indicating screen components that can be arranged in the GUI. However, in order to allow the user to add a completely new unique screen, button, etc., it is possible to change these data.

  The screens used in one application have a hierarchical arrangement as will be described later, but the hierarchical structure may be realized by an application program. However, when editing a screen, it is easy to select a screen if it is known which screen belongs to which level. Therefore, data indicating this hierarchical structure is included in the screen list data etc. so that it can be referred to during editing. It is good to leave.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a display example of a GUI editing screen for the UI customizing tool 200 of the PC 40 to accept a GUI screen editing operation.
The GUI editing screen 300 shown in this figure is a screen displayed on the display of the PC 40 by the function of the UI customization tool 200 activated on the PC 40. Then, the UI customization tool 200 is designated with the read destination of the data to be edited, and upon receiving a read instruction, reads the data set as shown in FIG. 3 from the read destination, and based on the contents of the data set, A GUI editing screen 300 as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows a display example when a data set is read from the image processing apparatus 10.

  In this screen, first, selection of which application provided in the image processing apparatus 10 is used to edit the GUI is accepted by the three tabs of the copy tab 301, the box tab 302, and the document transmission tab 303. The tab displayed on the GUI editing screen 300 is determined according to which application contains GUI data to be used in the data set acquired as the editing target. In addition to these, a search tab 401 is also provided as a tab. This search tab 401 is a screen that accepts an instruction to search and extract screen components using keywords, which is a feature of this embodiment. It is a button for displaying.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the copy tab 301 is selected. In this state, a screen for editing the GUI screen used by the copy application is displayed on the editing content display unit 310.
Among these, the screen list display unit 320 is a part that displays a list of GUIs used by the application selected by the tab in a tree format. In this tree, the screen that is displayed when the application is started is placed on the top screen, the screen that is moved from the top screen by operating the buttons placed on that screen is placed on the lower screen, and the lower screen The screen that is shifted by the operation of the button is a lower screen. Normally, the upper screen is a screen that accepts a wide range of settings and function selections, and the lower screen is designed as a screen for accepting detailed settings related to a specific function.

  Then, the user can select one GUI screen to be edited from the list displayed on the screen list display unit 320. Then, which GUI screen is selected is indicated by a cursor 321, and the content of the selected GUI screen is displayed on the preview display unit 330. FIG. 10 shows a state where the copy top screen at the top of the list is selected.

What is displayed on the preview display unit 330 is a preview of the GUI screen displayed on the operation panel 18 that reflects the editing result by the user. In this screen, a screen component such as a button whose display content is to be edited can be selected by clicking.
Information indicating the current state of the screen component to be edited selected in the preview display unit 330 is displayed on the property display unit 340 and the display presence / absence display unit 350.

  FIG. 10 shows a state in which the automatic paper selection button 331 is selected, and the property display unit 340 displays name, type, coordinates, size (width and height), font as current information about this button. Size information is displayed. Of these data, except for the name, the contents of the screen definition data shown in FIG. 4 are displayed. The user can change the value of each item by selecting a desired item and inputting a desired value or a change instruction from a user interface (not shown) such as text input, pull-down menu, cursor button, or the like. it can.

  Of the screen definition data, items not shown in FIG. 10 and captions in each language can be displayed and edited on the screen. When the above changes are made, the contents are immediately reflected in the display of the preview display unit 330. However, as for the name, the name corresponding to the selected screen component is displayed based on the contents of the name table corresponding to the language used by the user being edited, and this value cannot be edited. In addition, here, for the convenience of display space, the screen name is displayed in the screen list display unit 320, and it is not necessary to display it separately here, so only “name 2” on the name table is displayed. is doing.

  The display presence / absence display unit 350 displays a display button 351 and a non-display button 352 for setting a “display presence / absence” value regarding the screen component to be edited. The corresponding button is highlighted. In the example of FIG. 10, since the automatic paper selection button 331 is in the “display” state, the display button 351 is in a reverse display state. Then, by pressing the non-display button 352, the automatic paper selection button 331 can be set to a “non-display” state. This display / non-display change is also immediately reflected in the display of the preview display unit 330.

  Note that if a button is set to “non-display”, the button is not displayed on the preview display unit 330, and thereafter cannot be clicked on the screen. Therefore, although not shown, the GUI editing screen 300 displays a list of screen components included in the screen data selected by the screen list display unit 320 regardless of display / non-display. This button is provided, and the user can select an editing target from this list when he / she wants to edit information about a non-displayed screen component.

The save button 362 is a button for accepting an instruction to save the contents of the screen edited on the GUI editing screen 300 as described above, and the PC 40 sets the edited data set when the save button 362 is pressed. Are stored in the storage location specified by the user. When the image transmission device 10 is designated as a storage destination, it can be stored in a state where it can be used for display. It can also be saved as a file on the PC 40 side.
The read button 361 is a button for receiving an instruction to read data to be edited on the GUI editing screen 300. When the read button 361 is pressed, the PC 40 reads a data set indicating the contents of the GUI screen from the reading source designated by the user, stores the data set as an edit target, and displays the GUI edit screen in accordance with the contents. Update.
These saving and reading can also be performed in units of application, that is, in units of screen definition data indicated by one screen list data shown in FIG.

In the editing of the GUI screen, a set of screen definition data to be edited is read by pressing the read button 361 in the editing content display unit 310 described above, the GUI screen to be edited is selected in the screen list display unit 320, and the preview display unit In step 330, the screen component whose display content is to be changed is selected as an editing target, and the property display unit 340 or the display presence / absence display unit 350 changes the property of the screen component.
The related element search button 370 uses a keyword corresponding to the screen component to be edited to search and extract the screen component, which is a feature of this embodiment, and display the result. It is a button.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a display example of a screen for instructing search and extraction of screen components using keywords, which is displayed in response to selection of the search tab 401.
When the search tab 401 is selected on the GUI edit screen 300, the PC 40 displays a search display unit 410 as a display unit corresponding to the search tab 401 in the GUI edit screen 300. Even in this state, the copy tab 301, the box tab 302, and the document transmission tab 303 are displayed. By selecting these tabs, the user can display the editing content display section as shown in FIG. Can do.

On the other hand, the search display unit 410 is provided with a keyword input unit 411, a keyword list display unit 412, and a search execution button 413.
The keyword input unit 411 is a part that receives an input of a keyword used for search, and can input a keyword as text. If a screen component to be edited is selected on the GUI editing screen 300 when the search tab 401 is selected, a keyword associated with the screen component is displayed as an initial value. Therefore, even when the user does not know the corresponding keyword, it is possible to easily specify a keyword for searching for a screen component related to the screen component being edited.

  In addition, the keyword list display unit 412 displays a screen about the screen if the GUI screen to be edited is selected on the GUI editing screen 300 when the search tab 401 is selected. This is an area for displaying a keyword corresponding to at least one of the screen components that can be arranged in the list. The clicked keyword can be input to the keyword input unit 411 by clicking any one of the keywords included in this list. Therefore, even when the user does not grasp an accurate keyword, it is possible to easily specify a keyword for searching for a screen component related to a screen component that can be arranged on the screen being edited.

The search execution button 413 is a button for accepting a search start instruction. When this is pressed, the PC 40 searches for all screen definition data included in the data set read as the editing target, and selects the screen component associated with the keyword input to the keyword input unit 411. Extract and display the result on the screen.
When the related element search button 370 is pressed in the edit content display section 310, the search display section 410 is not displayed, and a keyword corresponding to the screen component to be edited is immediately used. Search and extract the screen components and display the results.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a screen for displaying this search result.
When the search execution button 413 illustrated in FIG. 11 is pressed, the display of the search display unit 410 is switched to a search result display unit 420 that displays a search result of screen components as illustrated in FIG. When the related element search button 370 is pressed on the edit content display unit 310, the display of the edit content display unit 310 is switched to the search result display unit 420.

This screen first includes an extraction list display unit 421, which displays a list of screen components corresponding to the same keyword used for the search for each application. As the character string for displaying each component, the character strings of name 1 and name 2 registered in the name table corresponding to the language used by the user are used. Then, by displaying “:” between these names, the user can grasp which screen component on which screen the extracted screen component is arranged.
In addition, a check box corresponding to each screen component is displayed in the list so that the user can select a screen component for performing batch non-display setting by the batch non-display button 422.

  The collective non-display button 422 is a button for giving an instruction to collectively set non-display for the screen components selected in the extraction list display unit 421. When this button is pressed, the CPU of the PC 40 “undisplays” the contents of “display presence / absence” in the screen definition data for all screen components whose check boxes are selected in the extraction list display unit 421. Set to. As a result, even if screen components such as buttons associated with a specific keyword are arranged on a wide variety of screens, they can be easily set to non-display without omission.

  When a maker prepares a keyword, it is considered that the same keyword is associated with the screen component related to the same function. This means that buttons related to a specific function are easily hidden without omission. Means that you can. And, when trying to prohibit the use of a specific function by hiding the button on the GUI, it is possible to easily set the button related to the specific function to be hidden without omission in this way. Is very useful.

In particular, in the search using the related element search button 370, a screen component associated with the same keyword as the screen component being edited can be searched with one touch, so that the screen to be edited simultaneously with the screen component being edited Components can be extracted efficiently.
In addition to the batch non-display button 422, the search result display unit 420 sets display for the screen components selected by the extraction list display unit 421, or sets all the check boxes in the extraction list display unit 421. You may provide the button for turning on or off collectively.

  Next, a process executed by the CPU of the PC 40 in order to realize the function relating to the extraction of the screen components described above will be described. All the processes described here are performed by the CPU of the PC 40 executing an application program for realizing the function of the UI customization tool 200.

First, FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the display process of the search display unit 410 shown in FIG. This process is executed when the search tab 401 shown in FIG. 10 is selected.
In this case, the CPU of the PC 40 first determines in step S11 whether or not a screen component to be edited is selected in the editing content display unit 310 displayed when the search tab 401 is selected. If it is not selected, the process proceeds to step S12 in order to collect data necessary for displaying the keyword list to be displayed on the keyword list display unit 412.

  Here, it is determined whether or not a screen to be edited is selected in the editing content display section 310. If it is selected, the process proceeds to step S13, and the screen definition data of the selected screen is set as a reference target. If not referenced, the process proceeds to step S14, and the screen definition data of the top-level screen of the selected application is acquired and set as a reference target.

  In any case, the process proceeds to step S15, and a keyword table as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is editing is obtained. The display language ID is an ID indicating a language used for screen display in the UI customization tool 200, and can be determined according to the information on the language used included in the user information and the setting of the language used by the user. .

  After step S15, the screen definition data scanning loop of steps S16 to S19 is referred to one by one in the screen definition data included in the screen definition data to be referred to in step S13 or S14. Repeat until referenced. That is, for each screen component registered in the screen definition data table to be referenced, the keyword ID corresponding to the screen component is acquired from the screen definition data table (S17), and the keyword ID acquired here is obtained. A key word string corresponding to the key is acquired from the keyword table acquired in step S15 and stored (S18).

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S20, and the frame of the search display unit 410 shown in FIG. This “frame” is a portion of the search display unit 410 other than the keyword list display unit 412 that performs a fixed display regardless of the content of the keyword. In step S21, the list of keyword character strings held in step S18 is displayed on the keyword list display unit 412, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the screen component to be edited is selected in step S11, the process proceeds to step S22 in order to obtain a keyword character string that should be the initial value of the keyword to be displayed on the keyword input unit of the search display unit 410.
In this case, in step S22, a keyword table corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is editing is acquired in the same manner as in step S15, and the screen selected as the editing target from the appropriate screen definition data in step S23. Get the keyword ID of the component. Thereafter, in step S24, as in step S18, the keyword character string corresponding to the keyword ID is acquired from the keyword table and held.

  In step S25, the frame of the search display unit 410 is displayed as in step S20. In step S26, the keyword character string held in step S24 is displayed as the initial value of the keyword input unit 411. finish. In this case, nothing needs to be displayed on the keyword list display unit 412.

With the above processing, the PC 40 can display the search display unit 410 on the GUI editing screen 300 in response to the pressing of the related element search button 370 and shift to a state of accepting input of keywords used for search.
At this time, if the GUI screen to be edited is selected in the editing content display unit 310, the keyword corresponding to at least one of the screen components that can be arranged on the screen is displayed as a keyword candidate for use in the search. Part 412 can be displayed. In addition, if a screen component to be edited is selected in the editing content display unit 310, a keyword corresponding to the screen component can be displayed on the keyword input unit 411 as a keyword candidate used for search. Further, a keyword in a language used for editing work can be displayed as a keyword.

  The process shown in FIG. 13 does not execute the process of displaying the keyword list when YES is determined in step S11. In this case as well, the screen definition of the screen selected as the editing target is not displayed. The keyword list may be displayed by executing the process of the screen definition data scanning loop with reference to the data table. If YES in step S11, the search display unit 410 is not displayed, and the search process described below is immediately performed using the keyword character string held in step S24 to display the search result display unit 420. It is also possible to do so.

Next, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show flowcharts of display processing of the search result display unit 420 shown in FIG. This process is executed when the search execution button 413 shown in FIG. 11 is pressed or when the related element search button 370 shown in FIG. 10 is pressed.
In this case, the CPU of the PC 40 first holds the keyword used for the search in step S31, and in step S32, as in step S15 of FIG. 13, the keyword table corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is editing. To get. The keyword used for the search is a keyword that has been input to the keyword input unit 411 when the search execution button 413 is pressed. When the related element search button 370 is pressed, the keyword is selected as an edit target. This is a keyword corresponding to the selected screen component. In the latter case, the keyword used for the search can be acquired by the same processing as steps S23 and S24 in FIG.

  After step S32, three nested loop processes are performed in steps S33 to S41. The outermost loop is an application scanning loop in which the processes of steps S34 to S40 are sequentially executed with reference to each application using the GUI being edited by the UI customization tool 200. The application to be referred to here can be determined from the application list shown in FIG.

  The next loop is a screen list scanning loop in which the processes of steps S35 to S39 are executed with each screen definition data indicating the GUI used by the application that is the reference target in step S33 being sequentially referred to. Here, the screen definition data to be referred to can be determined according to the screen list data shown in FIG.

The innermost loop is a screen definition data scanning loop that executes the processing of steps S36 to S38 with each screen component registered in the screen definition data to be referenced in step S34 being sequentially referenced.
In the screen definition data scanning loop, first, in step S36, a keyword character string corresponding to the screen component being referred to is acquired. This acquisition can be performed by acquiring the keyword ID of the screen component being referred to from the screen definition data being referred to, and acquiring the keyword character string corresponding to this keyword ID from the keyword table acquired in step S32. .

In the next step S37, the keyword character string acquired in step S36 is compared with the keyword used for the search held in step S31. If they match, it is possible to determine that the screen component being referred to is a screen component to be extracted by the search, and therefore the process proceeds to step S38, and the application identifier and the screen configuration are determined for the screen component being referred to. Holds the element identifier.
When all the three nested loop processes are completed, the process proceeds to step S42 in order to display the search result display unit 420 indicating the extraction result of the screen components based on the data held in step S38. The process shown in FIG.

Here, first, the frame of the search result display unit 420 is displayed in step S42. This “frame” is a portion that performs a fixed display regardless of the contents of the extracted screen components other than the extraction list display unit 421 in the search result display unit 420.
In step S43, a name table corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is editing is acquired. Thereafter, until all the applications holding the identifiers in step S38, that is, the applications to which at least one screen component extracted by the search belongs are referred to, the respective applications are sequentially referred to, and the search result scanning loop of steps S44 to S50. Process A is performed. Note that even if the application identifier is held a plurality of times for the same application, the reference target here is only once.

  In this search result scanning loop A, first, in step S45, based on the application identifier and the display language ID of the user who is editing, a character string indicating the name of the application being referred to is obtained from a table (not shown). It is displayed on the extraction list display unit 421. After that, in order to display the screen components used in the application being referred to among the screen components having the data held in step S38, these screen components are sequentially referred to and the search result scanning loop B in steps S46 to S49. Perform the process.

In this search result scanning loop B, in step S47, a character string indicating the name of the screen component being referred to is acquired from the name table based on the screen component identifier and the display language ID of the user who is editing. This is processed as necessary and displayed on the extraction list display unit 421. In step S48, a check box corresponding to the displayed screen component is displayed. Here, as the processing in step S48, a process of connecting the character string of name 1 registered in the name table and the character string of name 2 with “:” interposed therebetween is performed.
When the above search result scanning loops A and B are completed, the processing shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is completed.

With the above processing, the PC 40 shows a list of screen components that are associated with the same keyword as the keyword specified by the user in response to pressing of the search execution button 413 or the related element search button 370, as shown in FIG. It can be displayed on the search result display unit 420. The effect of this is as described in the description of FIG.
In addition, about the comparison of the keyword in step S37, you may make it judge that the keyword matched not only in the case of a perfect match but in a partial match.

[Second Embodiment: FIGS. 16 to 28]
Next, a second embodiment of the screen editing apparatus of the present invention will be described.
This embodiment differs from the first embodiment mainly in that a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other can be set as keywords corresponding to the screen components, and the screen components are searched. It is a point that can specify the range to be. The screen editing apparatus according to the second embodiment and the image processing apparatus that displays the operation screen edited by the screen editing apparatus are different in the data format to be handled due to a plurality of keywords. The hardware configuration and basic functional configuration are the same as those in the first embodiment.
Therefore, the second embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for substantially the same components as those in the first embodiment.

First, the use of a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a transition example of screens lower than the print screen among screens used by the image processing apparatus 10 in the document box application. 17 to 21 are diagrams showing display examples of the screens shown in FIG.

  The print screen 610 shown in FIG. 17 is the highest screen among the screens for setting contents such as bibliographic information and stamps to be added to the stored document when the stored document is printed by the document box application. It is. Then, on this screen, by pressing the buttons for security management numbering, stamp printing, user stamp printing, date printing, and page printing, which are the screen components arranged on this screen, the details of each printing content are displayed. You can move to a lower screen for making various settings.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a part of the screen transition starting from such a print screen 610. In this figure, the name of the screen is shown in the square, and the button shown beside the arrow on the screen. When the button is pressed, the screen moves to the screen indicated by the arrow. For example, the transition example of FIG. 16 indicates that when the date print button 611 is pressed on the print screen 610, the display shifts to the date print screen 620 shown in FIG.

  This date printing screen 620 is a screen for setting the format and position of the date to be added to the document, and is a lower-level screen for making detailed settings for each item by pressing a button on the screen. Can be migrated to. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when the format change button 621 is pressed, the screen shifts to the date format screen 630 shown in FIG. 19 for setting the date format, and when the print color button 622 is pressed, the date is printed. When the screen shifts to the print color change screen 640 shown in FIG. 20 for setting the color and the change button 623 is pressed, the screen shifts to the print position screen 650 shown in FIG. 21 for setting the date print position.

For example, on the print color change screen 640, seven buttons of yellow, red, cyan, magenta, green, blue, and black corresponding to the print colors that can be set are arranged. By pressing these buttons, date printing is performed. Color can be set.
Whether date printing is to be performed on all pages or only the first page can be set using the all pages button 624 and the first page only button 625 on the date printing screen 620.

FIG. 22 is a Venn diagram showing the relationship between the buttons provided on the screens shown in FIGS.
In this figure, an outermost set 610a indicates a set of screen components related to the top-level print screen 610 among the screens shown in FIGS. In addition, five ellipses described on the inside are buttons for security management numbering, stamp printing, user stamp printing, date printing, and page printing arranged on the printing screen 610, and lower buttons displayed in response to pressing of the buttons. A set of screen components related to the screen is shown. However, for convenience of space, only the set 620a related to the date print button 611 shows elements in the set.

  As elements of the set 620a, first, there are sets 630a, 640a, and 650a corresponding to the format change button 621, the print color button 622, and the change button 623 for shifting to a lower screen. The elements of these sets are screen components that are arranged on a screen that shifts in response to a button press. In addition, the elements of the set 620a include elements 624a and 625a corresponding to the all page button 624 and the first page only button 625 for performing settings relating to the print page.

That is, the set corresponding to each screen includes a button for instructing the transition to the screen and a button arranged on the screen. Further, it can be considered that a group of buttons constitutes one set in units of functions, not in units of screens. Here, a specific function is included in one screen such as an all page button 624 and a first page only button 625. When a group of buttons for performing the setting related to is arranged, it is considered that they also constitute a unique set.
In order to simplify the drawing, FIG. 22 shows only the buttons for moving the screen and setting the parameter values. However, other screen components such as a mere message, an OK button, and a back button are shown. Can also be considered as an element of a set corresponding to the screen to be arranged.

  By the way, in the first embodiment, one keyword is associated with each screen component. However, with this method, for example, if a keyword corresponding to the value of a parameter set by the button is associated with a certain button, a button having the same parameter value can be easily searched, but the parameter set by the button There is a situation where it is difficult to search for buttons having the same item.

For example, if a button for specifying the number of colors is associated with keywords such as “auto color selection”, “full color”, “two colors”, “single color”, focusing on the parameter values to be set, these buttons Since the corresponding keywords are all different, it is not possible to perform a search by using a parameter item to be set, such as a “button for specifying the number of colors”.
Therefore, in the second embodiment, by utilizing the mutual relationship between the screen components as shown in FIG. 22, each screen component has a plurality of upper / lower relationships from wide to narrow. The keywords are associated with each other.

  In the example of FIG. 22, “print” is associated with the screen components belonging to the set 610a related to the print function as the highest-level first level keyword, and among these, the set 620a related to the date print function is associated. It is conceivable to associate “date printing” as the next second-level keyword with the screen component to which it belongs. Similarly, screen components belonging to the set 640a related to the print color setting are associated with “print color” as the next third-level keyword, and are further arranged on the print color change screen 640. Each screen component may be associated with a fourth-level keyword at the lowest level indicating a specific screen component such as “yellow” or “red”.

When keywords to be associated are determined according to such a rule, for example, for the red button 641 in the print color change screen 640, four keywords of “print”, “date print”, “print color”, and “red” are arranged in order from the top. Are associated with each other.
If keywords are associated with the print color button 622 arranged on the date print screen 620 according to the same rule, the three keywords “print”, “date print”, and “print color” are associated in order from the top. Since the fourth level keyword is not particularly necessary, nothing needs to be prepared. However, in order to distinguish from the screen components in the print color change screen 640, it is possible to associate the same keyword of “print color” with the third level. Thus, it is not essential to associate keywords of all levels that can be associated.

  FIG. 22 shows the details only for the date printing function. For example, if there is a screen for setting the printing color on the screen related to the stamp printing function, a button for displaying the screen and the screen are displayed. Also for the buttons arranged in “”, a keyword of “print color” similar to the case of the date printing function may be associated as a third level keyword. In this way, by searching for screen components using the third-level keyword “print color”, the screen components related to the setting of the print color are extracted without worrying about differences in higher-level functions. be able to.

In addition, hierarchical keywords can be similarly set for the screen components arranged on the screen related to functions other than the printing function shown in FIG. 22. By using a common thing, extraction across functions can be made possible.
Note that the keyword defined in this way may be described in the screen definition data as in the case of the first embodiment. In addition, description in the screen definition data is performed as a keyword ID, and it is preferable to prepare a keyword table for each language so that the keyword ID can be converted into a keyword character string, as in the case of the first embodiment. is there.

FIG. 23 shows an example of screen definition data in the second embodiment.
This figure shows an example in which the screen definition data is described in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format.
In the figure, one uppermost window element indicates data for one GUI screen. For the attribute of the window element, the id attribute value is the GUI screen identification information, the function attribute value is the screen that the GUI screen is used for, and the shape attribute value is the GUI screen. Indicates the file name of the image data used as the background.

  In addition, one item element that is a child element of the window element indicates data for one screen constituent element that can be arranged on the screen. The attribute value of the item element indicates the contents of each setting item in the screen definition data table shown in FIG. 4, the id attribute indicates the “identifier” of the screen component, the type attribute indicates the “type”, and the x attribute The y and y attributes indicate “coordinates”, the w and h attributes indicate “size”, the shape attribute indicates “shape”, the font attribute indicates “font size”, and the visible attribute indicates “display presence / absence”. For the visible attribute, “true” indicates “display” and “false” indicates “non-display”.

  In addition, the value of the customize attribute of the second item element indicates whether the value of the visible attribute can be set to “false”, that is, whether the screen component can be hidden, and “false” Indicates that this is not possible. For some screen components, the GUI operation may be inconvenient if it is not displayed, so this customize attribute is provided so that these screen components can always be “displayed”. Yes. In the example shown in the figure, the second item element indicates an OK button, and if it is not displayed, the setting contents cannot be determined and it is considered that the operation of the GUI is inconvenient. The value of visible attribute is set to “false”.

  The keyword ID is described as an attribute of a keyword element that is a child element of the item element. In the example shown in FIG. 23, four levels of keywords can be set, and the ID of each level keyword can be described as attribute values of kw1, kw2, kw3, and kw4. When a certain level of keyword is not set, it is only necessary to describe the corresponding attribute value.

FIG. 24 shows an example of the keyword table.
This keyword table can also be described in the XML format like the screen definition data. Here, one message_list element at the top in the figure indicates the contents of one keyword table, and the value of the language attribute indicates what language the keyword character string is described in this table. Also, one message element that is a child element of the message_list element indicates data related to one keyword. That is, the value of the id attribute of the message element indicates the keyword ID, and the value of the string attribute indicates the keyword character string corresponding thereto.

In the keyword table, it is not necessary to describe what level of keyword the keyword ID indicates. Even if the same keyword ID is used to indicate a plurality of different levels of keywords, there is no problem.
Although not shown, the name table can also be described in the XML format in the same manner as the keyword table. For example, the value of the id attribute of the message element may indicate the screen configuration element ID, and the value of the string attribute may indicate the character string of the name corresponding thereto. When a plurality of names are registered as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, it is only necessary to be able to describe them as string1 attribute, string2 attribute, and the like.

Next, FIG. 25 shows a display example of the search display unit in the second embodiment.
Also in the second embodiment, when the search tab 401 is selected on the GUI editing screen 300, the PC 40 displays the search display unit in the same manner as in the first embodiment. As shown in.
That is, the search display unit 410 ′ includes a search range setting unit 430, keyword selection units 441 to 444 at each level, and a search condition setting unit 451, in addition to a search execution button 413 for receiving a search start instruction. ing.

  Among these, the search range setting unit 430 is a part that accepts specification of a search range when searching for screen components, and provides a check box for each application, and by turning it on / off, the GUI used for each application Whether to include data in the search range can be set. Which application is provided with a check box can be determined, for example, by searching the value of the function attribute of the window element for the screen definition data read into the PC 40 as an editing target.

  The keyword selection units 441 to 444 are portions that accept selection of keywords of the first to fourth levels (items 1 to 4) used for the search, and the keyword selection unit 444 that accepts selection of the item 4 (fourth level). As shown, the pull-down menu 445 accepts keyword selection. What keywords are displayed as options in the pull-down menu will be described later in the description of the display process.

  The search condition setting unit 451 is a part that accepts a setting of which level of keyword to consider in the search. The search condition setting unit 451 is a text box, and the user can input a logical expression as appropriate. In the figure, an example in which an AND search is set for all the keywords of items 1 to 4 is shown. Further, instead of a text box, for example, it is possible to adopt a format in which selection of a keyword item used for AND search is accepted by a check box or the like.

  In such a search display unit 410 ′, when the search execution button 413 is pressed after the search range, keyword, and search condition are set by the user, the CPU of the PC 40 reads all the items read as edit targets. The screen data that match the specified condition is extracted and displayed on the search result display unit 420 as described with reference to FIG. 12 in the first embodiment. For this screen, the same format as in the first embodiment can be used.

Next, a process executed by the CPU of the PC 40 in order to realize the function relating to the extraction of the screen components described above will be described. All of the processes described here are also performed by the CPU of the PC 40 executing an application program for realizing the function of the UI customization tool 200.
First, FIG. 26 shows a flowchart of pull-down menu display processing in the search display unit 410 ′. This process is executed when a button for opening a pull-down menu is pressed in the search display unit 410 ′ shown in FIG.

  In this process, first, in step S61, it is determined in which keyword selection section the button for opening the pull-down menu has been pressed. Then, depending on which of items 1 to 4 is selected, the process proceeds to any of steps S62 to S65 to set a search item and a reference item.

  Specifically, when the button is pressed in the keyword selection unit 441 of item 1, the search condition is set to “none” and the reference item is set to “item 1” in step S62. If the button is pressed in the keyword selection unit 442 for item 2, the search condition is set to “item 1” and the reference item is set to “item 2” in step S63. If the button for item 3 is pressed, the search condition is set to “item 1 & item 2” and the reference item is set to “item 3” in step S64. If the item 4 button is pressed, the search condition is set to “item 1 & item 2 & item 3” and the reference item is set to “item 4” in step S65. That is, an item corresponding to the keyword selection unit where the button is pressed is set as a reference item, and an item higher than that is set as a search condition.

After steps S62 to S65, two nested loop processes are performed in steps S66 to S71.
The outer loop is a screen list scanning loop that executes the processes of steps S67 to S70 with reference to all screen definition data included in the GUI data being edited by the UI customization tool 200 in order.

The inner loop is a screen definition data scanning loop that executes the processing of steps S68 and S69 with each screen component included in the screen definition data that is the reference target in step S66 being sequentially referred to.
In this screen definition data scanning loop, first, in step S68, it is determined whether or not all keyword IDs of search items relating to the screen component being referred to match the keyword ID of the keyword currently selected for the item. This search item is the item set in steps S62 to S65, and the keyword ID of the keyword selected for each item is associated with the keyword string when the keyword character string is selected from the pull-down menu. Just remember. If the search item is “none”, the determination in step S68 is always YES. If no keyword is selected for the search item, the keyword ID is always the same for that item.

If YES in step S68, the process advances to step S69 to hold the keyword ID of the reference item related to the screen component being referred to, and the process advances to step S70. If NO, the process proceeds directly to step S70.
When all of these two nested loop processes are completed, the same keyword as that currently selected for the item higher than the item whose button is pressed among the screen components that can be arranged in the GUI by the UI customization tool 200 It is possible to hold the keyword ID of the item for which the button is pressed for all screen components for which is set.

  After these processes, in the next step S72, a keyword table corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is editing is acquired. The display language ID can be grasped similarly to the case of step S15 in FIG. After that, the keyword ID scanning loop of steps S73 to S75 is repeated while sequentially referring to all types of keyword IDs held in step S69. That is, the keyword ID corresponding to the keyword ID being referred to is acquired from the character string conversion table acquired in step S72 and held. In step S69, the same keyword ID may be held a plurality of times, but the reference target in step S73 is only once for each type.

  The keyword ID scanning loop process can create a list of keyword character strings to be displayed as options in the pull-down menu. In the next step S76, the keyword of the item whose button is pressed is selected according to the list. A pull-down menu to accept is displayed, and the process ends.

  With the above process, when selecting keywords to be used for search in order from the top, a pull-down menu can be automatically created and used for the search so that the lower keywords related to the already selected keyword can be easily selected. A plurality of keywords can be selected efficiently. In particular, when AND search is performed for all keywords, it is possible to select keywords that can narrow down the search target in stages.

  Next, FIG. 27 and FIG. 28 show flowcharts of search result display processing executed when search execution is instructed in the search display unit 410 ′ shown in FIG. This process is executed when the search execution button 413 shown in FIG. 25 is pressed, and the display format of the search result is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 12 in the first embodiment. .

In this case, first, in step S81, the CPU of the PC 40 holds the application to be searched, the keyword of each item used for the search, and the specified content of the search condition received in the search display unit 410 ′, and edits in step S82. A keyword table corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is working is acquired. The display language ID can be grasped similarly to the case of step S15 in FIG.
Thereafter, in steps S83 to S91, three nested loop processes are performed. The outermost loop is an application scanning loop in which the processes of steps S84 to S90 are executed by sequentially referring to the applications to be searched held in step S81.

The next loop is a screen list scanning loop in which the processing of steps S85 to S89 is executed with each screen definition data used by the application that is the reference target in step S83 being sequentially referred to. Here, the screen definition data to be referred to can be determined by the screen list data shown in FIG.
The innermost loop is a screen definition data scanning loop that executes the processing of steps S86 to S88 with each screen component included in the screen definition data that is the reference target in step S84 being sequentially referred to.

  In the screen definition data scanning loop, first, in step S86, keywords for each item associated with the screen component being referred to are acquired. This acquisition is performed by acquiring the keyword ID corresponding to the screen component being referred to from the screen definition data being referred to, and acquiring the keyword character string corresponding to this keyword ID from the keyword table acquired in step S82. Can do.

  In the next step S87, the keyword acquired in step S86 is compared for each item with the keyword used in the search held in step S81. If the items indicated by the search condition held in step S81 match, it can be determined that the screen component being referred to is a screen component to be extracted by the search. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step S88, and the screen configuration which is an application identifier (function attribute of the window element) indicating which application is used for the screen component being referred to, and the identifier of the screen component itself Holds element identifier (id attribute of item element).

When all the three nested loop processes are completed, the process proceeds to step S92 to display the search result display unit 420 indicating the extraction result of the screen components based on the data held in step S88. The process of the part shown in 28 is performed.
Here, first, the frame of the search result display section 420 is displayed in step S92. This “frame” is a portion that performs a fixed display regardless of the contents of the extracted screen components other than the extraction list display unit 421 in the search result display unit 420.
Thereafter, in step S93, a name list corresponding to the display language ID of the user who is editing is acquired.

Next, in steps S94 to S100, two nested loop processes are performed. The outer loop is a search result scanning loop A in which the processes of steps S95 to S99 are executed with reference to all the applications having the identifiers in step S88 in order. Note that even if the application identifier is held a plurality of times for the same application, the reference target here is only once.
In step S95, the name string of the application being referred to is acquired from a table (not shown) based on the application identifier and the display language ID of the user who is editing, and the extraction list display section of the search result display section 420 is acquired. 421.

After that, in the search result scanning loop B in steps S96 to S99, among the screen components having the identifiers in step S88, those corresponding to the application being referred to are sequentially referred to in steps S97 and S98. The process shown is executed. That is, in step S97, a character string indicating the name of the screen component being referred to is acquired based on the screen component identifier and the character string table acquired in step S93, and is processed as necessary. The extracted list display unit 421 displays the extracted character string representing the screen component. In step S98, a check box corresponding to the displayed screen component is displayed on the extraction list display unit 421.
Then, when all the loop processes of steps S94 to S100 are completed, the process of FIG. 28 is terminated.

With the above processing, the PC 40 displays a list of screen components associated with the same keyword as the specified keyword in accordance with the plurality of keywords specified by the user and the search condition in response to the pressing of the search execution button 413. can do. The screen components can be classified and displayed according to which application uses the screen components.
In this embodiment, since a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship can be set for each screen component in this way, it is possible to perform a search based on organized keywords, and the target screen configuration. It is possible to easily narrow down elements in detail.

[Modification: FIG. 29]
This is the end of the description of the embodiment. In the present invention, the configuration of the apparatus, the specific processing contents, the content and use of the screen to be displayed, the data format, and the like are specifically described in the embodiments described above. Of course, it is not limited to what was done.
For example, instead of the search result display unit shown in FIG. 12, the search result of the screen component may be displayed beside the editing content display unit 310 shown in FIG.

FIG. 29 shows an example of a search result display screen when this configuration is adopted.
In this example, the search result of the screen component is displayed as an extraction list 380 on the side of the edit content display unit 310 that accepts an edit operation for the GUI screen. The format of the list and the processing necessary for the display of the list may be the same as those of the extraction list display unit 421 described in the above embodiments. In the example of FIG. 27, for the sake of display space, the extracted screen components are displayed using only “name 2” shown in FIG. 8, but display using “name 1” may also be performed. Of course it is possible.

The screen components of the extraction list 380 can be selected by clicking the mouse or the like, and the PC 40 indicates the screen components selected by the cursor 381. At this time, the screen component selected in the extraction list 380 is selected as a screen component for receiving an editing operation in the editing content display unit 310, and the screen component is highlighted so that the user can specify it. For example, as indicated by the symbol A, the selected screen component is displayed surrounded by a frame line.
In addition, when the screen component selected in the extraction list 380 is not displayed on the currently displayed GUI screen, or is used in an application different from the application currently selected by the tab In this case, the selection of the GUI screen or tab is also switched to include the screen component selected in the extraction list 380.

  If such a display is performed, the user can easily recognize what screen component the screen component extracted by the keyword search is arranged on which screen, and the screen component can be simply selected from the list. Since the editing operation regarding the screen component extracted in the editing content display unit 310 can be immediately performed simply by selecting, an efficient editing operation can be performed.

  As the display for highlighting the selected screen component, various displays such as blinking, changing the color, changing the density, adding hatching, etc. are conceivable in addition to the frame. In addition, when a character string indicating any screen component is clicked in the extraction list display unit 421, the display proceeds to the display of the edit content display unit 310 and the extraction list 380 in a state where the screen component is selected. It may be.

  Further, not only the screen components selected in the extraction list 380 but also the screen components arranged on the same screen as the selected screen components among the extracted screen components are displayed in the same manner. May be. Alternatively, when a preview of the GUI screen is displayed on the editing content display unit 310 regardless of the screen components in the extraction list 380, the screen components extracted by keyword search among the screen components displayed on the screen. May be displayed with emphasis.

  In addition, regarding the display of the extraction list 380, the list is displayed separately for each GUI screen in addition to each application so that the extracted screen components are arranged on which GUI screen. Also good. When a plurality of keywords are systematically set for each screen component as in the second embodiment, the keyword itself is used instead of or in addition to the name of the screen component. You can also see which screen components belong to the screen by sorting the extracted results for the top keywords and displaying multiple keywords side by side from the top to the bottom. Can be made easier. The type of the screen component may be displayed together with the keyword.

  Further, it is not impeded that the keyword character string of each language is directly described in the screen definition data for each keyword. Conversely, it is also conceivable that the keyword ID is not described in the screen definition data but is described in a separate table. In this case, for example, a table for associating identifiers of screen components with keyword IDs or keyword character strings may be prepared separately.

Of course, the present invention may be applied to a screen editing apparatus for editing a GUI used in apparatuses other than the image processing apparatus. For example, the present invention is equipped with any electronic device such as network home appliances, vending machines, medical equipment, power supply devices, air conditioning systems, metering systems such as gas / water / electricity, automobiles, aircraft, general-purpose computers, etc. This can be realized as a device for editing the operation screen displayed on the display.
Further, the configuration of the operation unit displayed on the screen is not limited to the button.

The recording medium of the present invention is a recording medium that records a program for causing a computer to control hardware so as to function as a screen editing apparatus as described above. By reading this program from such a recording medium into the RAM and causing the CPU to execute it, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments and modifications. Further, such a program can be provided by downloading or the like without being distributed on the recording medium.
In addition, the configurations and modifications of the embodiments described above can be applied in appropriate combinations within a consistent range.

As described above, according to the screen editing apparatus or the screen editing method of the present invention, when editing the screen to be displayed on the display device, the user can efficiently find the location to be edited, and the editing operation can be performed. Efficiency can be improved.
Therefore, by applying the present invention, it is possible to provide an editing environment in which the screen displayed on the display can be easily customized.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus that is an example of an apparatus that displays a screen based on screen data edited by a screen editing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of functions related to GUI display and customization among the functions of the image processing apparatus and the PC illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data set which prescribes | regulates the content of GUI which the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 uses. It is a figure which shows the content of the screen definition data shown in FIG. 3 in detail. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI screen displayed according to the screen definition data illustrated in FIG. 4.

It is a figure which shows the example of the keyword table which the screen editing apparatus which is embodiment of this invention uses. It is a figure which shows the other example. It is a figure which shows the example of the name table which the screen editing apparatus which is embodiment of this invention uses. It is a figure which shows the other example. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a GUI editing screen for the UI customization tool of the PC illustrated in FIG. 2 to accept a GUI screen editing operation.

It is a display example of a screen for the UI customization tool to accept search and extraction instructions for screen components using keywords. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen which similarly displays the search result of the screen component using a keyword. 12 is a flowchart of display processing of the search display unit shown in FIG. 11 executed by the CPU of the PC shown in FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the display process of the search result display unit shown in FIG. It is the flowchart of the continuation.

It is a figure which shows the example of a transition of a screen below a printing screen among the screens which an image processing apparatus uses with a document box application. It is a figure which shows the content of the printing screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the content of the date printing screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the content of the format screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the content of the printing color change screen shown in FIG.

It is a figure which shows the content of the printing position screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the buttons provided in the screen shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen definition data used by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which similarly shows the example of a keyword table. It is a figure which shows the example of the search display part which PC which is 2nd Embodiment of the screen editing apparatus of this invention displays.

It is a flowchart of a pull-down menu display process in the search display unit, which is executed by the CPU of the PC. Similarly, it is a flowchart of search result display processing executed when search execution is instructed in the search display section. It is the flowchart of the continuation. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen on which the PC which is a screen editing apparatus displays the search result of a screen component in the modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Image processing device, 11: CPU, 12: ROM, 13: RAM, 14: NVRAM,
15: Panel I / F, 16: Engine I / F, 17: Communication I / F, 18: Operation panel,
19: engine unit, 20: system bus, 30: network, 40: PC, 110: control unit, 111: communication unit, 112: screen definition data management unit, 113: screen generation unit, 114: personal authentication management unit, 120 : Storage unit, 121: screen definition data storage means, 122: authentication data storage means, 200: UI customization tool, 201: communication means, 202: screen definition data input / output means, 203: screen component extraction means, 210: customization Means 300: GUI edit screen 310, 310 ′: Edit content display section 370: Related element search button 410: Search display section 411: Keyword input section 412: Keyword list display section 413: Search execution button 420: Search result display section, 421: Extraction list display section, 422: Batch non-display button

Claims (12)

A screen editing device that edits the contents of the operation screen displayed on the display unit and saves the edited results.
For each screen component that can be arranged on the operation screen, keyword storage means for storing one or more keywords corresponding to the screen component;
Selection accepting means for accepting selection of a screen component to be edited;
Means for performing display setting for determining whether or not to display the screen component selected by the selection receiving means on the operation screen;
Keyword accepting means for accepting keyword input;
A screen editing apparatus, comprising: an extracting unit that extracts a screen component corresponding to the keyword received by the keyword receiving unit and displays the screen component as a candidate for the screen component for which the display setting is performed. The screen editing apparatus according to claim 1,
Among the keywords stored in the keyword storage unit, the display unit displays a list of items corresponding to screen components that can be arranged on the operation screen being edited,
The screen editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the accepting means comprises means for accepting selection of a keyword used for extracting a screen component from a list displayed on the display means. The screen editing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The keyword storage means is means for storing a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other as keywords corresponding to the screen components;
The screen editing apparatus characterized in that the extracting means can extract the screen component using one or more arbitrary level keywords among the plurality of keywords. The screen editing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
Second extraction means for extracting a screen component corresponding to the keyword using a keyword corresponding to the screen component selected as the editing target, and displaying the extracted screen component as a candidate for the screen component to be set for display; A screen editing apparatus characterized by being provided. The screen editing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A screen editing apparatus comprising: means for collectively performing the display setting for an arbitrary number of screen constituent elements selected by a user among screen constituent elements extracted by the extracting means. The screen editing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A screen editing apparatus characterized in that the extracting means is provided with means for highlighting and displaying the extracted screen components in the preview of the operation screen. A screen editing method that edits the contents of the operation screen displayed on the display unit and saves the edited result.
Computer
For each screen component that can be arranged on the operation screen, a keyword storage procedure for storing one or more keywords corresponding to the screen component;
A selection acceptance procedure for accepting selection of screen components to be edited;
A procedure for performing display setting for determining whether or not to display the screen component selected in the selection reception procedure on the operation screen;
Keyword acceptance procedure for accepting keyword input,
A screen editing method, comprising: extracting a screen component corresponding to the keyword received in the keyword receiving procedure, and executing an extraction procedure for displaying the screen component as a candidate for the screen component for which the display setting is performed. The screen editing method according to claim 7,
The computer is
Executing a display procedure for displaying a list of keywords corresponding to screen components that can be arranged on the operation screen being edited among the keywords stored in the keyword storage procedure;
The screen editing method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving procedure is a procedure for receiving selection of a keyword used for extracting a screen component from the list displayed in the display procedure. The screen editing method according to claim 7 or 8,
The keyword storage procedure is a procedure of storing a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other as keywords corresponding to the screen components,
The screen editing method, wherein the extraction procedure is a procedure capable of extracting the screen constituent element using one or more arbitrary level keywords among the plurality of keywords. A program for editing the contents of an operation screen to be displayed on a display device and causing the computer to function as a screen editing device for saving the edited result,
The computer,
For each screen component that can be arranged on the operation screen, keyword storage means for storing one or more keywords corresponding to the screen component;
Selection accepting means for accepting selection of a screen component to be edited;
Means for performing display setting for determining whether or not to display the screen component selected by the selection receiving means on the operation screen;
Keyword accepting means for accepting keyword input;
A program including a program for extracting a screen component corresponding to the keyword received by the keyword receiving unit and functioning as an extracting unit for displaying the screen configuration element as a candidate for the screen setting for the display setting. The program according to claim 10,
The computer,
A program for causing the keyword storage means to function as a display means for displaying a list of items corresponding to screen components that can be arranged on the operation screen being edited;
The program according to claim 1, wherein the accepting means is a means for accepting selection of a keyword to be used for extracting a screen component from a list displayed on the display means. The program according to claim 10 or 11,
The keyword storage means is means for storing a plurality of keywords having a higher / lower relationship with each other as keywords corresponding to the screen components;
The said extraction means can extract the said screen structural element using the keyword of 1 or several arbitrary levels among the several keywords.